[HPforGrownups] Animagi (James and Krum)

[Jennifer Boggess Ramon]

No: HPFGUIDX 37788

Aagh!  Sorry - coming in late again . . .

At 10:07 AM +0000 4/10/02, jaymzhuk wrote:
>Am I the only one that thinks James Potter got a bit of a short-straw
>by transofmring into a stag?
>
>Apart from the mauraders keeping a werewolf in check, all the other
>instances of animagi we've seen have been for moving around unnoticed
>in the muggle (or wizarding) world - a beetle, a cat, a dog, a rat, a
>bumblebee (speculation <g>)... then a great big stag! Hardly go un-
>spotted walking along privet drive, would it?

There's no indication that James wanted that advantage of the form. 
Besides, if he wanted to go unnoticed romping through the woods, it 
works just fine.

>I know there's the whole majestic thing, but apart from fighting
>prowess it's  hardly a useful shape.

It's also good for running, although there are other Animagus shapes 
that beat it (hmmm . . . horse Animagi, anyone?).  It strikes me as a 
reasonably multipurpose shape - good at running, combat, and romping 
in the forbidden Forest - for what James's intentions were.


At 11:40 AM +0000 4/10/02, marinafrants wrote:
>This brings up something I've been wondering recently.  During the
>second task in GoF, Krum attempts to transform into a shark, and
>only partially succeeds.  Was this an attempt at an animagus
>transformation?

It had better have been, if Newt Scamander is to be trusted - he 
mentions in FBaWTFT that those Transfigured into beasts, rather than 
being Animagi, take on the minds of the animals they turn into.  Krum 
Transfigured into a shark would have just as soon eaten Hermione as 
rescue her.

Of course, it's possible that Scamander is talking through his pointy 
hat.  We don't know how much experience he has with Animagi, if any.

>If it was, how did Krum know he was going to become
>a shark?

Perhaps he'd done it before.  We don't know whether the Bulgarian 
equivalent of the MOM has restrictions on Animagery, or whether Krum 
is registered as an Animagus there.

>And talk about an inconvenient animagus form -- can't
>transform unless you've got a large body of water handy.

There are worse ones.  Consider the jellyfish Animagus.  OTOH, being 
a squid Animagus might be rather cool.  We know phyla other than the 
vertebrates are possible, since Skeeter can turn into an insect . . .

>If it
>wasn't animagic, then what was it?  Are there ways to take on an
>animal shape without becoming an animagus?  If so, then what's so
>special about being an animagus?

One can be Transfigured into an animal shape by someone else, or at 
least Scamander says one can.  The entire MacBoon clan was supposed 
to have been so Transfigured, giving rise to the Pentapeds.  (Which 
probably aren't vertebrates either.)  As I tend to think of that as 
similar to the old AD&D Polymorph Other spell, and the Animagus 
transformation as similar to Polymorph Self, I suspect that one can't 
Transfigure one's self into an animal shape beond the Animagus 
Transformation, but perhaps there is a sort of partial-transformation 
spell, and that is what Krum used?  Could Hermione, under the right 
circumstances, Transfigure her hands into tiger's claws for 
self-defense?  If so, we haven't seen it anywhere else yet, and it 
makes Bagman's comment about an "incomplete" tranformation a little 
odd, but we probably can't rule it out.

-- 
  - Boggles, aka J. C. B. Ramon			boggles at earthlink.net
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